A senior-ranked Maoist cadre was neutralized during an exchange of gunfire with security forces in the Budanai Reserve Forest, located within the Baliguda police limits of Kandhmal district on Friday.
On October 23, based on actionable intelligence, two teams from the Special Operations Group (SOG)—an elite commando unit of the Odisha Police—launched an operation in the area, which resulted in an exchange of fire at 9 AM. Following the skirmish, security forces recovered the body of a male Maoist cadre, who was found in uniform and equipped with an AK-47 rifle.
Preliminary investigations revealed that the deceased was a senior-ranking cadre of the Communist Party of India (Maoist), affiliated with the Kandhmal-Kalahandi-Boudh-Nayagarh (KKBN) Division operating in the region. A thorough combing operation is currently ongoing.
Odisha DGP Y.B. Khurania praised the Kandhmal Police, the Intelligence Directorate, and the Operational Headquarters for their successful operation. So far this year, five Maoists have been neutralized in Odisha.
